(Reuters) – Data breach at home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc has led to fraudulent transactions across the United States, draining cash from customer bank accounts, the Wall Street Journal said. Criminals are using stolen card information to buy prepaid cards, electronics and even groceries, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Financial institutions also are stepping up efforts to block the transactions by rejecting them if they appear unusual, the daily said. Earlier this month, Home Depot confirmed its payment systems were breached and said some 56 million payment cards were likely compromised in a cyberattack at its stores, suggesting the hacking attack at the home improvement chain was larger than last year’s unprecedented breach at Target Corp . Home Depot had said customers who shopped at its stores as far back as … Read entire article »

A scene from The Lion King – Contributed– NEW YORK (AP):  The Lion King is the top ticket of all time. With a worldwide gross of over US$6.2 billion, The Lion King stage musical has now achieved the most successful box office total of any work in any media in entertainment history, The Associated Press has reported. The show quietly took over top spot from the US$6 billion-earning The Phantom of the Opera late this summer, according to representatives from both shows. Phantom producers Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group congratulated The Lion King in a statement, calling their rival show “The Pride of Broadway.” The total makes The Lion King more valuable than any single Harry Potter film, the blockbuster Titanic, or any of the Star Wars movies. By way of comparison, the highest-grossing film in history is Avatar, with nearly US$2.8 billion worldwide. “It’s difficult not to become emotional at this realisation of the show’s impact,” said … Read entire article »